Navratri is celebrated in the month of Chaitra, which happens to be one of the most significant festivals of the Hindus. The festival marks the victory of good over evil.
Navratri is dedicated to Goddess Durga as well as her nine avatars. In any given year, there are four Navratris. However, only two of them are widely celebrated. These two are the Chaitra Navratri and Sharad Navratri.
At the time of Navratri, the devotees keep a fast for nine days to please Goddess Durga and seek her blessings. However, there can be variations in the number of fasting days. Some fast for all nine days, while others observe the fasting in pairs, like the first two days or the last couple of days of the Navratri.
This fasting has a lot of variations as well. Some people only have water during these nine days, while others have fruits, and some have only one meal in a day. A few popular dishes in Navratri include Singhare ka halwa, Kuttu ki puri, Singhare ke Pakore, sabudana khichdi, and sabudana vada.
In this post, you will get to know a few fasting rules related to Navratri that you are supposed to know. Also, you will get to know what Navratri food you can eat and what needs to be avoided.
Fruits
During Navratri fasting, you can go for all kinds of fruits. Some devotees go for only milk and fruits during these nine days of Navratri.
Grains and Flours
Regular grains such as rice and wheat are not allowed during the Navratri fasting days. Things that people usually eat during these days include:
- Buckwheat flour (kuttu ka atta)
- Water chestnut flour (Singhare ka atta)
- Amaranth flour (rajgira ka atta)
When preparing rice for Navratri food, barnyard millet (samvat ke chawal) or samai ke chawal is used instead of rice while preparing khichdi, kheer, or dhokla. Another staple food – Sabudana, is used for preparing kheer, papad, and vada.
Herbs And Spices
During Navratri, common salt or table salt is not consumed. Instead, rock salt or sendha namak is used for cooking. Among the spices, black pepper powder, cumin or cumin powder, cloves, cinnamon, green cardamom, ajwain, black peppercorns, kokum, dry pomegranate seeds, tamarind, and nutmeg are used. Some people prefer fresh coriander leaves, dry mango powder, red chili powder, chat masala, etc.
Vegetables
Most people eat vegetables during the Navratri days. These include carrot, cucumber, bottle gourd, semi-ripe or raw pumpkin, spinach, lemon, sweet potato, potato, suran or yam, arbi, kachalu, etc.
Milk And Dairy
During Navratri fasting, milk and dairy products such as paneer or cottage cheese, curd, white butter, malai, ghee, and milk preparations with khoya are usually consumed during Navratri times.
The best Navratri food is Sattvic food having life-like force or prana ingredients.
What Food Items Should Be avoided During Navratri
As a Thumb Rule, all kinds of Fast Food must be avoided during Navratri fasting. Canned foods and food items prepared using garlic and onion should also be avoided.
People who maintain Navratri fasting must also avoid consuming food items like whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, rice flour, corn flour, lentils, legumes, and Rava (semolina).
It is also recommended that non-vegetarian food such as eggs should be avoided during Navratri. Also, tobacco smoking, carbonated drinks, and alcohol were strict no-nos at the time of Navratri.